A EUROPEAN politician has urged a football club to lower his parliament's flag in favour of one from this country.

Darlington FC flies the European Union (EU) flag outside its ground on one of three flagpoles.

Supporters of the club ran an online poll last season and asked the club to lower the flag and raise the Union Jack or St George's Cross.

But club bosses have denied knowledge of the poll and instead asked supporters to contact them if they want the flag replacing.

North-East Conservative MEP Martin Callanan asked the club to unfurl the flag after being approached by fans.

He said: "Darlington seems an unlikely outpost of support for the EU. Whenever I ask people in Darlington what they think of the EU, their reaction tends to be unprintable.

"The club says it's flying the EU flag because one day Darlington might play in the Uefa Cup. This mixes up Europe and the EU. They're not the same at all.

"Uefa has 49 separate countries, almost twice as many countries as there are in the EU, so why not fly the Uefa flag?

"I'd love to see Darlington playing in the Uefa Cup, but at the moment that's a bit optimistic.

"At the moment, the club has come up with no good reason for the EU flag to be flown. If the executives are all supporters of the EU, that's fine, but they should come out and say it rather than try to dodge the issue.

"Fans deserve to know the truth about why their beloved club is being treated in this way.

"There are three flagpoles outside the ground.

"I suggest they fly the Darlington FC flag, the Cross of St George and the Union Jack."

Barry Simmonds, managing director of Darlington FC, said: "This is news to me. In my limited time at the club, I have had no comments at all about the flags flying at the Balfour Webnet Darlington Arena.

"In fact, the EU flag served its purpose well when we welcomed children from across the EU, who were in Darlington under a multi-national footballing initiative, to one of our matches earlier in the season.

"If fans really do feel strongly about this, then they can always contact me directly - and if it is an issue then we will reconsider our decision."